President Lowy (right) receives an official request for academic amnesty.
[singlepic id=133 w=320 h=240 float=right]
Tensions ran high at a ‘town hall’ meeting held on Tuesday between a crowd of approximately 150 students and some of Concordia’s senior administrators, including interim President Frederick Lowy.
Lowy, along with VP services Roger Côté and VP institutional relations Bram Freedman, addressed students’ questions regarding the administration’s response to the ongoing strike against impending tuition fee hikes put in place by the provincial government.
One of the main concerns brought up by students was the privatization of higher education in Quebec. Many stated that they felt the tuition fee increase was unfair, unnecessary and uncalled for.
“I’m sick and tired of the commercialization of every aspect of our lives,” said one woman. “Education is not up for grabs.”
Lowy insisted that Quebec universities must be funded along the same lines as other Canadian universities in order to provide the same education.
“If you feel Quebec universities could somehow manage on less, then that’s something you must justify,” Lowy said.
The right to strike as a form of protest, the heightened presence of security at the university and the mismanagement of funds were also addressed by both the administration and the students.
Trevor Smith, VP finance of the Geography Undergraduate Student Society asked why it took Lowy six weeks to hold this meeting and criticized how the administration had handled the student strike so far.
“I’m really ashamed of it,” Smith said. “This is our first strike and probably not our last strike,” he added to a round of applause from students.
When questioned about the heightened security measures taken by the university lately, Lowy
said it was a necessary step.
“We have a responsibility for the safety of everyone in this room and everyone at this university. A lot of security is not to suggest that people will behave badly,” said Lowy. “Essentially it’s preventive work.”
At one point during the discussion, two representatives from the Fine Arts Student Alliance, including president Paisley V. Sim, presented Lowy and the other administrators with a formal request for academic amnesty shaped like a giant cheque. FASA has been on strike since the beginning of March and is in the process of holding a referendum to decide whether or not to continue through exam period.
The town hall meeting ended at approximately 1:15 p.m. much to some students’ displeasure. Many did not have the chance to speak in the time allotted by the university and had to leave without getting their turn.
The event was organized in response to the student occupation of the 14th floor of the MB building on April 2. Around 70 students sat outside the door of Lowy’s office for nearly an hour demanding to speak with the president. Lowy met with the students and agreed to host a formal ‘town hall’ where they could express their opinions openly on the strike.
Although the meeting was called in order to facilitate an open discourse with concerned students nearing the end of their semester, Lowy emphasized early on that it was not a “decision making meeting.”
If the Quebec government hoped to see the student movement against tuition hikes lose momentum with the end of the academic year, student leaders say they should think again.
Despite the Liberals’ attempts to appease the student protesters with first signs of interest in negotiating and promises of bursary bonifications, the government is currently taking increasing heat from businesses, universities and citizens, being urged to quickly find a solution to the ongoing stalemate.
Two weeks ago, the head of the Fédération des chambres de commerce du Québec warned that an extension of the winter semester would have repercussions on the number of students filling summer jobs, and would result in a serious blow to the province’s tourism and economy. Last week, the rector of the Université du Québec à Rimouski also urged Minister of Education Line Beauchamp to re-establish a dialogue with students and proposed to name a mediator.
“In this context of pre-elections, it’s going to be increasingly difficult for the Charest government to maintain their position [in favour of tuition hikes],” said Fédération étudiante universitaire du Québec president Martine Desjardins. “The government is expecting the movement to lose steam, but what we see is an increasing number of strike votes and an intensification of the movement.”
At Concordia, despite a one-week general strike and sporadic disruptions of classes and exams, the movement led by the Concordia Student Union will likely have no effect on the university’s academic calendar. Concordia spokesperson Chris Mota said the movement was not disruptive enough to make the university consider an extension of the winter semester.
In other universities, however, administrations are forced to adjust their schedules due to as much as eight weeks of general strikes in some cases.
UQÀR, Université du Québéc à Montréal and Université de Montréal are looking into extending the winter semester by at least a month and are hoping for a return to classes by April 16.
“Cancelling a semester would have disastrous economic consequences for universities and CÉGEPS,” said Desjardins. “It would mean having double the number of students next year, double the amount of professors and double the entire costs.”
Many departments in these universities have voted for an unlimited strike until their demands are met or until their student union puts an end to the movement. Added to that, the major student associations are informally respecting an agreement of non-denunciation and non-negotiation, where associations cannot question the legitimacy of other student groups’ actions, nor can they initiate negotiations with the government without the presence of all the major associations. The return to classes will likely depend on the government’s decision to negotiate with students.
For Desjardins, the threat formulated by Beauchamp warning students of academic consequences after the massive March 22 protest only proved the Liberal government had its back against the wall.
Beauchamp opened the window for negotiations for the first time last week saying she was ready to talk about improving the loans and bursaries program, but was adamant in her refusal to contemplate a tuition freeze.
“I cannot sit down at a table with students and discuss the topic of ‘to whom are we passing the bill to,’” Beauchamp told La Presse.
Although Desjardins praised Beauchamp’s effort to initiate negotiations, she said raising conditions for the talk was a bad start.
Desjardins also said that student mobilization against tuition hikes will continue to grow and actions will continue to be organized week after week, depending on the context and government responses.
“So far, it doesn’t look like we are stopping anytime soon,” she said.
At Concordia, there are still no signs of a petition that would initiate a third general assembly in order to vote for a continuation of the strike among undergraduate students. Concordia Student Union vice-president external Chad Walcott said that even if a GA was to be held by the CSU, “it would be very difficult [in the context of the end of the semester] to mobilize enough people in time in order to meet quorum.” However, Walcott said that the CSU would still participate in other organizations’ movements and said the union was ready to provide the necessary resources to students who “are keeping the movement alive.”
The major actions planned by student organizations so far are a protest in Premier Jean Charest’s Sherbrooke riding on April 4 and an outdoor show in downtown Montreal on April 5.
Information about future actions will be posted on the FEUQ’s, the Fédération étudiante collégiale du Québec’s and the Coalition large de l’Association pour une solidarité syndicale étudiante’s websites.
The Concordia Student Union does not plan to hold any further general assemblies to vote on a strike, opting instead to work very closely with some departmental associations who will continue to hold their own GAs.
“Our message is clear, we want to negotiate, but the government won’t even do that,” said CSU President Lex Gill. “We’re so proud to have a little over 15,000 supporters within the community.”
The CSU, however, is not planning to hold another general assembly to solidify Concordia undergraduates’ position on the strike. Unless, of course, the students demand one.
“If a petition is formed in question of another general assembly, we will definitely look into it,” said Gill.
The CSU has been working very closely with some associations on organizing departmental GAs and funding striking activities. Gill said she is proud of the communication between these associations and the CSU.
“Most of our time consists of working with departments and keeping everything organized, funding them, and helping them all the way through,” said Gill. “They’ve done an excellent job in giving students the opportunity to express their opinions.”
Students wait to register at the March 26 general assembly. Photo by Navneet Pall.
Students wait to register at the March 26 general assembly. Photo by Navneet Pall.
Unlike its March 7 predecessor, the second general assembly held on Monday by the Concordia Student Union to vote on continuing the strike was met with little success.
While about 2,000 students were present at the first GA, less than 300 showed up on the Reggie’s terrace for the outdoor GA organized by the CSU. After more than an hour of waiting in the cold and windy afternoon, the CSU still had not met the minimum of 450 registrations in order to carry out the vote. Around 3:30 p.m., CSU Chair Nick Cuillerier announced only 12 students had registered in the past hour and declared the GA adjourned.
“It’s a disappointing turnout, unfortunately, and it wasn’t meant to be,” said Cuillerier. “There was a very small amount of time between the calling of the general assembly and the general assembly itself compared to the previous assembly which had six weeks of notice and preparation.”
Shortly after the GA, about 100 students organized a sit-in on the 7th floor of the Hall building and started passing around a new petition to call for a third GA. While undergraduates as a whole are no longer on strike, individual faculty departments are still holding strike GAs and are organizing mobilization movements on their own.
Yesterday’s adjournment struck some motions off the agenda specifically for that GA. Notably, the motion to pass the minimum agreement, which would prevent the CSU from denouncing the actions of other student associations, as well as requiring that all student associations be present when negotiating with the government.
“It’s difficult to do any kind of advertising in this kind of climate of continuous strike,” said CSU VP external Chad Walcott. “If you look at the CSU elections, we barely made quorum. But this campaign isn’t over yet. It will end when the year is over and next year we’ll pick it up if that’s what needs to happen.”
Walcott said he was confident the movement was not losing momentum.
“One thing that we all know is that when people are connected to the movement, they are going to keep going until they run out of steam, and it seems like there’s a couple hundred students here who aren’t running out of steam anytime soon,” he said. “And they’re going to continue mobilizing and I’m going to continue providing them with the resources they need.”
Some students, including those who organized the petition for this second GA, blamed the CSU for the failure to meet quorum, emphasizing a lack of organization and advertising.
“This GA was a disappointment,” said geography student Alex Matak. “I do feel like it was largely an organizational problem why it didn’t happen. The CSU was really busy and it has a lot of other things to do, at the same time I think there is a certain time where if you can’t do something, you need to make that clear. […] I wouldn’t blame them but I would say that they should not have tried to take that on themselves if they did not have the capacity to do it.”
Several students also said that the GA would have attracted more students if it was held indoors. The CSU said it was forced to hold it on the Reggie’s terrace because of a double-booking of the Hall auditorium.
The sit-in of the CSU lounge that came after the GA was a direct reaction to a recent email from the administration warning picketers that they could face formal charges.
The original plan to occupy the GM building was cancelled when a student reminded the group that such action could not be carried out without a plan. Instead, the 100 students headed for the 7th floor of the Hall building to prepare an agenda for Concordia’s future actions in the movement against tuition hikes.
Just like the provincial student associations, Concordia students talked about a radicalization of the movement, notably by increasing the number of acts of disturbance.
Students staged the largest protest in Quebec history March 22. Photo by Navneet Pall.
Over 200,000 people took to the streets in the historic March 22 protest against tuition increases, but as far as the provincial government is concerned, the hikes are here to stay.
The march began officially at Place du Canada, where buses full of students from outside the city started arriving earlier in the day. The approximate length of the route was five kilometres, with protesters marching down both Sherbrooke and Ste-Catherine Streets to their ultimate destination, Place Jacques-Cartier in the Old Port.
Protesters held signs denouncing Premier Jean Charest’s Liberal government, the leadership of Education Minister Line Beauchamp, and the idea that accessible education is not a priority.
Despite the massive turnout, the protest was extremely peaceful and the SPVM reported no major incidents during or after the march. Police presence was very light in comparison with other demonstrations that have taken place over the past few weeks.
On the morning of March 22, Charest told reporters at the National Assembly in Quebec City that his government would “never stop listening to students.”
The next day, his education minister told the Canadian Press that students needed to get back to class or risk facing consequences. Beauchamp reiterated that the government would not back down from its decision, and said that should students continue to boycott classes, they risk having their classes scheduled at night and semesters extended. Concordia already indicated in a previous statement that it has no intention of prolonging the winter term.
“We called for a peaceful, but loud demonstration. It was the biggest demonstration in the history of Quebec,” said Martine Desjardins, president of the Fédération étudiante universitaire du Québec.
She went on to say that “Beauchamp has no choice now but to answer to 200,000 people speaking with one voice demanding accessible education.”
“The mobilization exceeded all our expectations,” said Fédération étudiante collégiale du Québec President Léo Bureau-Blouin. “This is a precedent in student mobilization and I’m sure it’s going to have a huge impact on the Liberal government.”
The Concordia delegation lead the way for the better part of the three-hour demonstration.
“This sends an incredibly strong message to the government,” said Concordia Student Union President Lex Gill of the protest. “If anything else, the Liberal party has lost 200,000 voters for life.”
The participation far exceeded the predictions made earlier in the day, proving that there is more public support for the student movement than estimated. Despite the success of the demonstration, Gill explained that protesters still have much work to do.
“The fight is not over,” she said. “There will be massive actions in the coming weeks until the government backs down.”
Participants in the March 22 protest represented every age demographic, from toddlers with their parents to cheering grandparents. Grade 10 student Terra Leger-Goodes of Paul-Gerin-Lajoie School in Outremont was at the march with a large group of students from her class.
“We heard that the cost of going to university is going up by a large amount, so we’re here to protest that. Society can only advance if people can go to school and gain knowledge,” she said, mentioning that by the time she enters university four to five years from now, the government’s tuition hikes will have almost reached their maximum. The Charest Liberals are planning to increase tuition by $325 a year between 2012 and 2017.
For grandmother Danielle Genereux, accessible education is an issue that affects everyone in Quebec, and should be at the top of the government’s priority list.
“Major investments in education should be an absolute priority. There should be no further discussion on that,” said Genereux, a grandmother of seven. “[The government] says opposition against tuition increases is not representative of the whole population. But today, they will see that it is representative.”
At the end of the march, Coalition large de l’Association pour une solidarite syndicale etudiante spokesperson Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois told students to return to their schools and to keep the student movement going. By 6 p.m., most of the protesters had dispersed, crowding into the nearest metro stations.
CLASSE, one of the main organizers of the day’s march, is planning a series of protests next week in an effort to cause an “economic disturbance” in the city, which they say will only end when the government retracts its decision to up tuition.
Opposition parties lend their support
Earlier in the morning of March 22, a press conference was held at Palais des Congrès by the Fédération étudiante universitaire du Québec and the Fédération étudiante collégiale du Québec, and included representatives from groups such as the Centrale des syndicats du Quebec and the Confédération des syndicats nationaux, as well as opposition political parties, the Parti Québécois, Québec Solidaire and Option nationale.
At the conference, PQ leader Pauline Marois reiterated that a PQ-elected government would not proceed with the tuition hikes, and would call for a provincial summit on post-secondary education. “The Charest government must stop considering students as enemies of the state,” she said.
QS spokesperson Françoise David, for her part, emphasized that the government could increase taxes on larger corporations in order to bring in more revenue, rather than asking for more money from students.
After the conference, PQ post-secondary education critic Marie Malavoy spoke to The Concordian about the issue of mismanagement of public funds in Quebec universities that has often been brought up in the debate on tuition increases.
Referring to Education Minister Line Beauchamp’s recent decision to fine Concordia with $2 million for handing out six severance packages totalling $3.1 million, Malavoy said “there is no reason to have targeted one university. We must look at the salaries, the benefits and the severance packages at all universities. It’s foolish to think it’s just Concordia,” she said.
Malavoy mentioned that an idea has been floating among PQ ranks to institute a “commission” to look more closely at the management of public funds in Quebec universities.
Extra security presence on campus causes tension with students. Photo by Navneet Pall.
Extra security presence on campus causes tension with students. Photo by Navneet Pall.
The first major altercations between university security and students happened on Monday, March 26, following the reaffirmation of Concordia’s strong stance against hard picketing tactics.
While some students were participating in a sit-in on the 7th floor, another group of students were facing half a dozen security guards on the 4th floor.
The conflict began when a group of geography students used hard-picketing tactics by blocking the entrance to their classroom. Protesters were met by security who showed up to make sure “there would be no incident.” Several students felt intimidated by the guards, who were also filming the picketers.
“I think 30 years ago we would have never seen this kind of pressure from the administration to force a union [security] to cross another union’s picket line,” said geography student Jess Glavina.
“What happened at the classrooms so far was very calm and very peaceful. The presence of security guards is creating a really uncomfortable environment on campus. It’s really unnecessary and it feels like students are being prosecuted.”
Last week the university sent an email warning about consequences for students who choose to continue blocking access to classes, which could include formal charges.
Eventually, the geography professor who was supposed to teach the class cancelled it, telling security there were not enough students in attendance.
“I just think that I’m in a really difficult position because I respect what the students have democratically chosen to do,” said the professor, Julie Podmore. “But the picket wouldn’t permit me to pass through anyway and there weren’t enough students that were in the classroom to hold the class.”
Earlier that day, a similar altercation resulted in an incident that drew attention on the Internet after it was posted by CUTV. A student who was filming an argument between security and students in the Faubourg was struck in the face by one of the security guards, throwing the camera out of her hands and onto the ground.
“Get that guy’s name because he just hit me in the face,” the student was quoted as saying in the video.
The security agent eventually left the premises without identifying himself. Following this initial incident, the student persisted that she wanted to file a formal complaint against the guard.
In the university’s March 23 email to all students, it stated that it was “no longer possible to tolerate further disruption of university activities by a minority of protesters who refuse to respect the rights of others.” The email went on to say that the university will from now on lay charges against those who choose to block access to classrooms.
The university said it also encourages students to report any incidents that prevent them from getting to their classes. Students who are found hard-picketing will be asked by the university security to provide IDs and will be reported to a panel to face the appropriate charges. Those who refuse to identify themselves will have their pictures taken in order to be identified.
“The charges will depend on the severity of the case but it could go from a written reprimand to expulsion,” said Concordia spokesperson Chris Mota. “The university will only target students who are physically blocking access to classrooms and offices. We received complaints and we need to make sure our community has the liberty of movement. Blocking the Guy Metro building [last Wednesday] for example was unacceptable.”
The CSU and the Graduate Students’ Association responded to the university’s email by issuing a statement titled: “Students will not be intimidated.”
Both associations called the university’s email “dangerous” and “irresponsible,” saying the university painted picketing students as aggressive when “in reality [their actions] have been consistently characterized by a lighthearted, peaceful, and creative nature, with very few incidents.”
“The last communication the administration sent out was perceived by the CSU as extremely aggressive,” said CSU VP external Chad Walcott. “Their message is calling for a profiling of students and a general discrimination against protesters and picketers. We think that it is highly unacceptable.”
Walcott believes that the university’s decision to come out with a heavy-handed stance proves that the student movement’s tactics are working.
“We actually sat with the university administration to tell them that this email would only create conflictual relations between students and the university,” said Walcott. “We were basically told that the university did not care if things went out of hands.”
“What people need to understand is that our protest is about taking to the streets, learning about education in the streets, and discussing the future of our Quebec universities,” said professor Anna Kruzynski of Concordia’s School of Community and Public Affairs during her speech at Wednesday’s Zombie Walk/Strike Open-Mic.
As I listened to the various speakers—students, activists, professors—speak to the crowd that had amassed in front of the Hall building, and as I spoke to people and photographed their signs and protest materials, it became clear to me that the tuition hike issue is also an arts community issue.
“Universities are following the corporate model of management, turning our education into a business venture, a product in a retail store,” Kruzynski said, “and that means that private funding for research will likely go to [the sciences],” leaving arts programs underfunded.
Although I won’t get into my own views on the strike here—there isn’t enough space or time—I’d like to dedicate this week’s ARTiculate to the art projects, body-painting, and protest signage that students have created in response to the tuition hike issue.
From the elegant to the wacky, and all the way to zombies, the art related to the strike sends a vibrant and powerful message: that art is important and worth funding, a vital part of personal
response, and a highly-visible medium for expressing dissent.
1) POP ART: Some of my favourite signs put a new twist on an old work of art, such as a “Non à la marchandisation” poster which rebranded Andy Warhol’s famous Campbell’s Condensed Soup piece as “Education Soup,” alluding to the pre-packaged and “canned” education that protesters like Kruzynski attribute to “corporate-model universities.” Also spotted: A Mona Lisa with the caption: “Le secret de son sourire? L’éducation accessible!”
2) PAINT ON: Improvised studios took shape along the de Maisonneuve Boulevard pavement, showcasing the widespread use of red as the strike’s colour of choice. The sight of students painting one another in anticipation of that day’s zombie walk highlighted the collaborative effort of the strike project.
3) PORTRAIT GALLERY: I spotted Hannah, an English major at Concordia, in front of the Hall building sketching students who posed for her impromptu exhibit entitled Portraits for Strikers. The dignified and simple portraits illustrate that artistic response is varied both in subject matter and in form, and that non-visual arts students also feel creatively compelled to participate in the strike.
4) PAINTED FACES: What was all that painting for? Student Lea shows off her zombie makeup, complete with dark under-eye circles, a bloody mouth, and a dress smeared with black paint and plastered with protest slogans. The zombie march organized by fine arts students was definitely one of the most creative elements of the protest against tuition increases.
5) PURL’N’KNIT: As a lover of knitting, I couldn’t help but notice two female students sitting
a little aside of the main action, knitting and crocheting away. Weaving and Time, a project proposed by Katrina Habrich, Hope Phillips and Katherine Spooner-Lockyer, plays on the work of fibre arts in joining and weaving together to symbolize the unity of students during the strike and protest period. The best part? The girls plan to create a huge sweater that can only be worn by several students at once—not that the protesters will need it with the weather we’ve been having.
6) POPULAR POETRY: English department students held a poetry reading/open-mic on the corner of Mackay Street and de Maisonneuve Boulevard, reading both from personal poems and from personal favourites. Two students held up a banner that read: “Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire,” quoting William Butler Yeats.
Quebec has been holding its breath since the three major student associations promised to push things further following the massive demonstration against tuition hikes last Thursday.
After the March 22 protest that saw 200,000 students marching the streets of Montreal, student leaders warned the Liberal government they were now taking the movement further.
Organizations like the Fédération étudiante universitaire du Québec, the Fédération étudiante collégiale du Québec and the Coalition large de l’Association pour une solidarité syndicale étudiante announced increasing actions of occupation and “economic disturbance” in order to hit the Charest government where it hurts—in its pockets. One of the leaders even showed signs of support to actions like blocking traffic on bridges.
“We are now going to speak the only language [the Charest government] understands, and that is the language of money,” said CLASSE spokesperson Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois. “We have tried with symbolic actions but now it’s time to take it to the next step.”
Reacting last Friday to the march, Education Minister Line Beauchamp refused to call it historic, as most of the province’s media did, and declared that her position had not changed.
In the plans announced by FEUQ, FECQ and CLASSE, the associations’ leaders promised they would increase the number of protests, hold regular sit-ins and occupation-type demonstrations in government offices and ministers’ press conferences. They also aim to launch awareness campaigns to influence future voters, particularly in the regions where Liberal candidates were elected by slim margins in the last provincial election.
“We’re now switching to a pre-electoral mode,” said FEUQ President Martine Desjardins. “We’re going to target the 10 Liberal MPs who won with the lowest majority in the last elections and we are going to campaign in their districts telling people that their MPs are against accessible education.”
When it comes to actions of economic disturbance, however, the different organizations don’t all agree on the methods to use. While CLASSE praised actions like blocking bridges and commended the participants in these actions for their “bravery,” the FEUQ and the FECQ questioned such methods and said they wished to avoid losing public support for their cause.
“Our belief is that we should target those who are responsible and in that case it’s the government,” explained Desjardins. “Public opinion is very fragile and it doesn’t take much to turn people against us. We need to make sure the general population supports us and we need to keep those families and professors who marched with us on March 22 supporting us.”
The Concordia Student Union sided with the FEUQ, and said they would not follow other students organizations in any actions that would put Concordia students at risk.
“The CSU’s position is that we endorse positions that are peaceful,” said VP external Chad Walcott. “We will only advertise actions that we feel our students can go to and come back from without being arrested or getting fined.”
However, CLASSE, FEUQ and FECQ admitted that if the Liberal government maintains its refusal to negotiate with students, these types of extreme actions would continue to happen. The associations are informally respecting an agreement of non-denunciation and non-negotiation, where associations cannot question the legitimacy of other student groups’ actions, nor can they initiate negotiations with the government without the presence of all the major associations.
“Blocking bridges is not the type of actions we support since we don’t think it targets the right people,” said FECQ President Léo Bureau-Blouin. “But we have showed good faith in organizing peaceful demonstrations so far and at some point, if the government still doesn’t listen, we have to take it to the next step.”
This is not the first time the FEUQ and the FECQ have disagreed with the CLASSE over strategies of mobilization. The three student organizations have been continuously quarreling since 2005 over campaigning methods.
During the speeches at the end of the March 22 demonstration, CLASSE leaders refused to also let FEUQ and FECQ representatives speak, claiming their congress mandate kept them from sharing the stage. The leaders of the two associations had to climb on the roof of their sound truck to speak to the thousands of protesters.
“We found it unfortunate considering our movement is supposed to be a unified movement but it’s not the time to show signs of division,” said Desjardins. “Our cause goes beyond the associations that we represent.”
It remains to be seen if the student organizations will agree on the strategies to adopt in pushing the student movement further, but all have assured they aspire for unity in their message and in potential negotiations with the government.
“It’s important for us to stay unified because the enemy is not among us, it’s the government. Having a unified movement with different and complementary strategies is the best way to go for now,” said Desjardins.
The next major protests are set to take place on March 27 in Montreal, and then on April 4 in Premier Jean Charest’s home riding of Sherbrooke. The CSU has announced it will be sending a bus full of students to the demonstration.
Concordia’s media relations team was in damage control mode on Wednesday after a fake email was sent out indicating, among other things, that the university would be granting academic amnesty to all students who have been striking against tuition hikes over the past several weeks.
The university says it’s unclear how many people received the hoax message.
The email was sent around 8:30 a.m. by a person identifying themselves as Concordia media relations director “Christina Moto,” clearly a play on the name of Concordia’s actual spokesperson, Christine Mota. Three hours later, Concordia issued a statement saying that the email was fake, and that the university’s position on the strike and on the government’s planned tuition increases has not changed.
Mota herself said that the email was “unfortunate,” and said that the university had been fielding calls today from students who were confused with Concordia’s apparent change of heart. She said it was unclear how many people received the email. Asked on Wednesday if Concordia would conduct an investigation to find the source of the “Christina Moto” email, she said that the university’s first priority was to get the right information out to the public. In an email on Friday, Mota said that the university was “examining [its] options.”
In the fake email, the sender mentions an early-morning March 21 gala that was to be held at Concordia’s GM building, where the university would “celebrate the ongoing pursuit of accessible education in Quebec.”
The person then went on to describe ways that Concordia would “enhance its competitive position among world universities,” which would include: granting academic amnesty to student strikers, investing $3.1 million into student bursaries and scholarships (equivalent to the total sum of severance packages handed out to six former senior Concordia employees), calling on the government to pursue other methods of funding for universities, including progressive taxation, and finally, re-evaluating the composition of Concordia’s Board of Governors by having members of the Concordia community elect the community-at-large members.
Concordia Student Union President Lex Gill said that the CSU was not responsible for the email, and called it a “light-hearted” form of political satire.
“I feel that while this press release was cheeky, it drew attention to a lot of the things that are wrong with the university, things that students wish they would hear from the university,” she said, adding that she hoped no students were confused by the email. “It was publicized pretty early in the day that it was a hoax message.”
In the statement later sent out by the university, Concordia reminded members of the campus community that its position on the strike remains the same. It has already made clear that students who choose to strike must discuss their academic status with their professors, who may grant leniency if desired.
With regards to severance packages, Concordia announced in early March that it is hiring external auditors to review five severance packages totalling $2.4 million that were issued between 2009 and 2010. In terms of Board of Governors composition, the body will be reduced to 25 members as of July 1, with 15 members forming the community-at-large faction. The Shapiro Report, which looked into Concordia’s governance troubles last spring, called on Concordia to ensure that the incoming community-at-large members represent the diversity of the City of Montreal. The BoG has often faced criticism for the fact that many of its external members are from the corporate world.
Students kick off strike with March. Photo by Navneet Pall.
Students kick off strike with March. Photo by Navneet Pall.
The last day of the week-long strike voted on at the Concordia Student Union’s March 7 general assembly will coincide with the massive province-wide protest against tuition hikes set to take place on Thursday, March 22. On that day, Concordia University will shut down both of its campuses.
An email sent by Provost David Graham and vice-president institutional relations Bram Freedman on Monday to all students and staff stated that, considering 15,000 protesters are expected to gather around Concordia before heading for the march towards Canada Place on Thursday, the university had to ensure the safety and security of the university community and members of the public by closing down and stopping all university activities for one day.
The university, however, will reopen on Friday, March 23.
“The area is going to be congested with people,” said Concordia spokesperson Chris Mota. “There is not enough space in and around campus to allow people to gather and facilitate access in the same time. [Closing the university] was the right call to make.”
The March 22 protest will see tens of thousands of students gathering in the streets of Montreal, according to organizers at the Coalition large de l’association pour une solidarité syndicale étudiante.
A Concordia delegation will be meeting in front of the Hall building at 12.30 p.m. and will be led by the CSU to meet with the rest of the protesters at Canada Place.
The Concordia week-long strike already kicked off last Thursday with a march of more than 200 ConU students through the streets of downtown Montreal.
Some of them gathered early in the morning in front of the Hall building, chanting, dancing and peacefully blocking the front entrance of the building with tape and balloons. At 11.30 a.m., about 100 students started marching around the downtown campus, eventually joined by at least 100 more protesters along the way.
“At the beginning, we were supposed to stay around the Hall building, but then a bunch of people said ‘let’s go to Charest’s office [on McGill College Avenue],’ so we did,” said CSU VP external Chad Walcott. “It went amazingly well and our numbers more than doubled during the march. I think we proved loud and clear that English students are not that apathetic and we definitely gave Montreal a little wake-up call saying that Concordia University is still alive and well.”
After a couple of circles around the Hall building, the protesters — accompanied by a giant bookworm made out of a dozen students hiding under sewed sheets — started walking on Ste-Catherine Street, escorted by police cars and attracting drivers’ and pedestrians’ attention with vuvuzelas. The students then went up McGill College Avenue for a quick stop in front of Quebec Premier Jean Charest’s office, before heading back towards Concordia.
“I am extremely proud of Concordia students today,” said School of Community and Public Affairs professor Anna Kruzynski, while dancing with the students after taking part in the march. “It’s the first time in Concordia’s history that students go on strike for more than one day. We have to take the tuition hikes issue to the street in order to be visible and gain the most support before the provincial government passes the budget on March 20.”
Kruzynski added that even though the decision to strike was not an easy or a unanimous one, it was a necessary sacrifice for the future of the education system in Quebec.
“There’s a lot of students who probably don’t understand why we need to strike,” she said. “But if you look at the history of student movements, the many strikes we had made it possible to stop tuition hikes or improve the loans and bursaries programs. If it weren’t for those strikes, people here would be in the same situation as students in other provinces where they have to pay $5,000 in tuition fees every year.”
When Tuesday’s march ended around 1 p.m., students remained in front of the Hall building, enjoying free food and partially blocking traffic by chanting and dancing in the street to the sound of drums.
“It’s just day one so people are still trying to figure out what is going on,” said psychology student Kathleen Khall about the turnout at the march. “The strike went really well and there was a lot of support from people who weren’t Concordia students as we were marching. As the days go on, people will probably participate more and I hope the movement grows and that we don’t let the French schools do all the work for us.”
As for the CSU’s strategy in preparing the March 22 protest, Walcott said he aimed to move away from the picketing “inside,” as such action was more in the hands of faculty associations, and “bring everybody to a festive atmosphere outside in the streets.”
“We’re going to keep people active, motivated and marching,” Walcott said. “If we continue like this, we will hopefully get a positive momentum and make all students join us without even having to picket.”
Does the proposed tuition hike piss you off? Does Charest’s silence unnerve you? Are you worried about the way the government manages funds? Don’t worry, you’re not the only one.
Whether it’s a question of accessibility or where the provincial government’s priorities lie, this is a historic moment for CEGEP and university students in Quebec. Protests and sleep-ins are taking over Montreal’s downtown core. It’s chaos for change; for those who don the red square, this is not a quiet battle. The strive for accessible education is a loud revolution and a long fight. Though the weather is getting warmer, Minister of Education Line Beauchamp should be aware that the students won’t quit until the freeze settles in. So, for those of you who choose to strike, or for anyone who is against the hike, this mixtape is for you.
Listen to the mixtape here! SIDE A: Hungry for change
1. “Bulls on Parade” – Rage Against the Machine – Evil Empire
2. “The Hand That Feeds” – Nine Inch Nails – With Teeth
3. “Walk” – Pantera – Vulgar Display of Power
4. “Fuck Authority” – Pennywise – Land of the Free?
5. “I Fought the Law (and I Won)” – Dead Kennedys – Single
6. “Brainstew/Jaded” – Green Day – Insomniac
7. “Flagpole Sitta” – Harvey Danger – Where Have All the Merrymakers Gone?
8. “I Get it” – Chevelle – Vena Sera
9. “Fight the Power” – Public Enemy – Fear of a Black Planet
10. “Bound for the Floor” – Local H – As Good as Dead
SIDE B: Irate and ready to rage
11. “Uprising” – Muse – The Resistance
12. “Seven Nation Army” – The White Stripes – Elephant
13. “Deer Dance” – System of a Down – Toxicity
14. “Down With the Sickness” – Disturbed – The Sickness
15. “Bodies” – Drowning Pool – Sinner
16. “The Kids Aren’t Alright” – The Offspring – Americana
17. “Break Stuff” – Limp Bizkit – Significant Other
18. “Re-Education (Through Labor)” – Rise Against – Appeal to Reason
Week-long strike starts with a march of more than 250 ConU students - Photo by Navneet Pall
The week-long strike voted on at the Concordia Student Union’s March 7 general assembly kicked off today with a march of more than 200 Concordia students through the streets of downtown Montreal.
Some students gathered early this morning in front of the Hall building, chanting, dancing and peacefully blocking the front entrance of the building with tape and balloons. At 11.30 a.m., about 100 students started marching in circles around the downtown campus, progressively joined by more protesters along the way.
“At the beginning, we were supposed to stay around the Hall building, but then a bunch of people said ‘let’s go to Charest’s office [on McGill College Avenue],’ so we did,” said CSU VP external Chad Walcott. “It went amazingly well and our numbers more than doubled during the march.”
After a couple of circles around the Hall building, the protesters walked on Ste-Catherine Street, escorted by police cars and attracting drivers’ and pedestrians’ attention with vuvuzelas, accompanied by a giant bookworm made out of a dozen students hiding under sewed sheets.
The protesters then went up McGill College Avenue for a quick stop in front of Quebec Premier Jean Charest’s office, before heading back towards Concordia.
“I am extremely proud of Concordia students today,” said School of Community and Public Affairs professor Anna Kruzynski, who took part in the march. “It’s the first time in Concordia’s history that students go on strike for more than one day and this march went great. We have to take the tuition hikes issue to the street in order to be visible and gain the most support before the provincial government passes the budget on March 20.”
When the march ended around 1 p.m., students remained in front of the Hall building, enjoying free food and partially blocking traffic by chanting and dancing to the sound of drums.
“If we continue like this, we will hopefully get a positive momentum and make all students join us without even having to picket,” said Walcott. “Our next step is to continue demonstrating and taking to the streets to make the message public and attract the maximum number of people at the March 22 protest.”
